Number of US Kids with Foreign-Born Parents Doubled, 1990 to 2010

An increasing share of American children is growing up in international households, meaning that more children are able to navigate multiple cultures, languages, and countries. The number of U.S. kids younger than 18 that live with one or two foreign-born parents more than doubled between 1990 and 2010. During these years, the size of this population grew by approximately 107.6 percent, from 8.19 million to 17.0 million children.

In 1990, about one out of every eight American children resided with at least one first-generation diaspora parent (12.76 percent). Twenty years later, nearly one out of every four American children resided with at least one first-generation diaspora parent (23.81 percent).

In the future, the country’s leadership will include many more diaspora members that have close ties to their countries of heritage. This will undoubtedly affect our country’s future decision-making.